The present invention relates to an intelligent electronic connector incorporating communication, control and input-output functions and/or a drive function and to an auxiliary equipment module.
FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a electronic control unit (ECU) for controlling electronic vehicle equipment in the related art. The ECU shown in FIG. 10 includes a power supply 204, a communication portion 201, a centralized control portion 202, an I/O (input/output): portion 213, an I/O portion 223 and a drive portion 233. The I/O portion 213 is connected via a connector 210 to a sensor 114 by a wire harness. The I/O portion 223 is connected via a connector 220 to a switch 124 by a wire harness. The drive portion 233 is connected via a connector 230 to a load 134 by a wire harness. Although ECUs 200 are mutually connected by way of multiplex communication, the load 134, the switch SW 124 and the like are connected to the ECU 200 by way of non-multiplex communication. Moreover, it has been required to connect each of the sensor 114, the switch SW 124 and the load 134 to the ECU 200 by a wire harness irrespective of the distance therebetween.
As the related art of the invention, JP-A-5-302544 discloses the art of drastically decreasing a processing load on an arithmetic ECU by carrying out various operations independently of one another with respect to input-output interruptions; however, it is not intended to realize saving of wire harness.
The following problems have been presented in vehicle network systems utilizing related ECUs and an ECU of the sort disclosed above.
Firstly, in case that specifications and functions of electronic vehicle equipment (including auxiliary equipment modules) are changed, each wire harness for use in connecting the electronic equipment to the ECU needs changing, whereby the number of kinds and product numbers of wire harnesses tend to increase as well.
Secondly, an increase in the function of electronic vehicle equipment results in not only increasing the number of circuits but also enlarging the wire harness itself, so that an increase in the mass is incurred.
Thirdly, due to centralized control performed by the ECU, the ECU becomes enlarged as a result of an increase in the function of electronic vehicle equipment; the problem is that an increase in the mass (deterioration in fuel efficiency and driving performance) as well as deterioration in roadability is incurred. Moreover, enlargement of software to be loaded in the ECU and an increase in the ECU product number are incurred and this will lead to an increase in the man-hour required for system development and the addition change of the specification.
Fourthly, noise produced from the wire harness affects the load such as a headlamp and a fan motor subjected to PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) by the drive portion of the ECU.